Machine for dressing tobacco



S. G. MGE.

MACHINE PoR DRESSING Temuco.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

sAML. e. ETcE,oE ALBANY, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR DRESSING TOBACCO'.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern..-

Beit known that I, S. G. RICE, of Albany, county 'of Albany, and Stateof New York,

i have invented a new and useful Machine for Dressing Tobacco; and. I doherebyT declare. that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,making a part of this specication, in which- Figure l is avertical transverse section through one form of tobacco-d ressingmachine. Fig2 is a longitudinal section taken in a vertical planethrough the center of my dressingmachi'ne. Fig. 3 is a top view of Figs.1 and 2.

Similar letters of 'reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral iigures.

The object of this invention is to dress fineeut tobacco by machinery,whiehis so constructed that the fine shreds of tobacco are shaken apart,loosened7 and thus prepared for drying withoutl separating` the fshorts7 from the mass. Tobacco is received in the market in hogsheads,packed away in a close condition. To prepare this tobacco for chewingand other purposes, the process consists in shaking the leaves apart byhand and then dipping them in water and casing them. The stem isstrippedfrom the leaf and the leaf packed away into a box, Yforming what isknown as a cheese,77 which may be twelve inches thick,

-twelvc inches wide, and twenty-four inches long. After the cheese hasbeen pressed very hard it is removed from its box and subjected to amachine which shaves off the tobacco in fine shreds, which are compactedtogether in consequence of the pressure to which they were subjected inthe cheese, together with their moist state, which renders the leavesmore or less sticky. The old method at this point in the process ofpreparing the tobacco consists in shaking the finely cut tobacco fromone hand to theother until the mass is thoroughly vopened and the shredsall separated from each sequent operations consist in drying the tobaccoand again opening or loosening it.

STo enable others skilled in the art to makev and use my invention, Iwill describe a ma chine by which the invention may be carried intoeffect.

. shakers.

.they are in motion.

tween the shelves.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a deep box, which may bemade' of any conveir ient size, and B is a frame-work, which iserectedover this box for the purpose of supporting the shafting, gearing, andcranks, or whatever devices may be employed for operating the Within thebox A, I have arranged two vertically-sliding frames, G C-one at eachend of thebox, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3whieh frames may work in groovesformed in the sides o f the boir'- or be held in place and guided intheir upland down movements by means `of the uprightfp osts of frame Band the transverse bars c c,- or any other suitable plan may beprovidedfor this purpose. "Ihese frames C G may be made very light and coveredwith canvas,

muslin, wire-cloth, or any 'other suitable ma terial; and projectingfrom the inside surfaces of said frames are inclined shelves D D,whiohincline toward each other and leave a space, b, between their lowerends,I as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Across thisspace, and suitably securedto the edges of the shelves D, are strips g g, of some elastic orflexible materiahwhich are intended forA preventing the cloth covering cfrom workingilownunder the shelves when The rows of pins d d on eachside inside of the box A are'for the purpose of receiving and keeping inplace the coveringcpvhich is in dicated'in red in Figs. 1 and 2. Thiscovering may be made of any kind of material which will admit of theshelves, together with their frames, being moved rapidly up and down,and at the same time prevent the tobacco from escaping 'at` the openingb be- The frames C C prevent the tobacco from escaping at the ends ofthe receptacle into which it is placed, while the cloth covering cprevents the tobacco from escaping at the sides and bottom of saidreceptacle. Being thus confined, it will be seen that the finely-cuttobacco will receive a tossing reeiprocating movement when the shelves,with their frames, are alternately moved up and down, and that thetobacco will be tossed from end to end of the box A, and at the sametime elevated. This alternating motion, which is given to the tobacco bythe shelves D D, resembles very much the motion of the hands ineffecting the same result, but with this difference, in dressingUtobacco by hand the'ne portions or shorts as they are called, fallbetween the ngers,'and are thus `separated fore-it is packed away foruse.

'from the longer shreds. vIn dressing -tobacco in the machine j ustdescribed, the shorts and longerv shreds are al1-well mixed together,and there is no loss in consequenceof a 4part Wast-` ing.-V After thetobacco is dressed, it is exposed tothe action of the air upon screensto dry,

and when dry it is shaken 'again' in the nia-V chi-ne, so as to open itas much as possible be- For dressing drytobacco my machine greatlyexcels the hand' process, and docs not break the tobacco nor produce aslarge a quantityjof .shorts as .by thel latter process.

When it is desired to separatethe shorts from the long shredsoftobacco,vthis can ybe readily done by the use of netting instead'ofcloth c. l

` Having thus described the general features of my invention and oneform of machine for purpose.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by ALetters Patent, is-

lfA-'machinc for. dressing fine-cut or cut `tobacco when adapted forgiving a tossing motion'to the tobacco, substantially as hereindescribed.

v 2.- The. employment of shelves DD in a box, 1A, .arranged and adaptedfor vdressing tobacco',

in combination with a sliding'frame or frames,

C C, substantially as described. 4

3. The employment of a covering or bag, c, or its equivalent, incombinationwith alternatelyrisng and fallin g'shelves DD, substan:tially as described.

4. The employment of dexible strips'g g,.or

their equivalent, in combination with movable shelvesD- D, substantiallyas and for the pur poses described. A l

SAMUEL e.' nien.

Witnesses: i

- Rohr. STEWART. WM. H. RICE.

